With their 4-2 win over the Blackhawks, Florida’s Reverse Retro jersey “curse” has been broken.
via Gfycat
Saturday’s game actually went differently than I thought it would. I was expecting a really tight, potential one-goal game, but the Hawks went flat after a crushing hit in the second period, and that’s when the Panthers pounced.
There’s no doubt about it that Gudas’ hit on Soderberg changed the momentum of the game - even Eddie Olyczk and Pat Foley (Hawks’ announcers) referenced that hit numerous times as the game’s turning point. After that bone-cruncher, it was all Florida.
What Did the Cats Do Right
I’ve been watching a lot of
Straight Up Steve Austin this weekend and one of the things he does at the end of each episode is list his three takeaways.
Using that template, below are my three takeaways from Saturdays game...and that’s the bottom line, ‘cause I said so!
1. Faceoff Dominance
We’ve talked about it before, but the Cats have been lacking in the dot lately. They seem to either be on the wrong side of the faceoff percentage stat, or breaking even with the opposition.
Saturday night was a different story. Florida won 66.6% of faceoffs to Chicago’s 33.3%. This dominance at the dot really contributed to the snuffing out Chicago’s offense. The Hawks really struggled to get anything going and that was due in part to Florida’s ability to take the puck off their sticks (so to speak) by not allowing them to win at the dot, gain possession, setup, etc.
2. Lack of Sustained Pressure
Piggybacking off #1, another thing the Panthers did well to stifle Chicago’s offense was clamp down on defense. While I thought Stralman struggled, the rest of the defense picked up the pace in the second period and prevented the Hawks from being able to gain any real traction and sustained pressure in the offensive zone.
On top of that, it seemed like forwards and defensemen were more active in the neutral zone this game - often breaking up Hawks entry attempts.
3. Pucks on Net
I’ve always been a believer in the old saying that, “it’s never a bad idea to put the puck on net.” While the Panthers are no strangers to racking up the SOGs this season, Saturday night felt a little different to me.
The Panthers sometimes fall victim to over-passing to find the perfect shooting lane. With the win over the Hawks, I noticed what seemed like more of an urgency to get pucks toward the net, regardless of the less-than-perfect shooting conditions.
A good example of this was Verhaeghe’s goal. A wobbly puck that was on its way out of the zone, he chose to tee it up and put it towards the net, rather than hold onto it and look for a pass or other options. With some traffic out front (all Hawks players), he was rewarded when his shot redirected off of Carpenter and turned into an impossible knuckler for Lankinen to save.
Tonight
There was a lot of chippyness Saturday night that got worse as the game went on (which is typical). I’m expecting some of that to spill over to tonight. I’m also expecting a Zadorov and (insert FLA player) tilt to happen. He was very noticeable last game and was chirping it up with some guys on a few occasions.
And if I’m being honest, I didn’t agree with the Exblad play where it looked like he intentionally stuck his knee out to take out Kane’s, so I wonder if that will come into play at all tonight..?
Lastly, when the Hawks were blown out by the Stars last week, they had a really good response the next game when they downed Dallas 4-2. I’m expecting the same thing tonight, so Florida will have to repeat Saturday’s performance. I personally thought that was one of their best played games this season. They stepped into the drivers seat and never relinquished control.
We’re Going Streaking!
Outside of Barky’s impressive three-point night, Verhaeghe extended his point streak to three games, while Vatrano has a two-game goal streak going. Interesting to note, both guys have 10 goals that have all come at even-strength.
Weegar also joined Team Streak by extending his point streak to four games, while Tippett extended his to three games. Even Gudas got in the streak mix by registering an assist in his second consecutive game.
Who gets on the scoresheet for the Cats tonight??
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See you guys at puck drop...Go Panthers!
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